California Women's Hospital Sued for Allegedly Filming 1,800 Patients

Sharp Grossmont Hospital in El Cajon, California claims it was investigating employee theft of anesthesia drugs. So it installed motion-activated cameras on drug carts in three operating rooms at the facility. The only problem? Those three rooms were part of the women's health center, and the secret cameras recorded some 1,800 patients in various stages of undress, undergoing Cesarean births, hysterectomies, and sterilization and miscarriage procedures.

"At times, Defendants' patients had their most sensitive genital areas visible," according to a lawsuit filed against the hospital, and "patients' faces were recorded, and the patients were identifiable." And this isn't the first suit involving the video surveillance at Sharp Grossmont.

Patient Safety or Patient Surveillance?

Eighty-one women filed the potential class action lawsuit, and hundreds more could join. "It's universal shock from the patients, and disgust," according to their attorney, Allison Goddard. "They don't know how their videos might be used or who may have seen them because Sharp didn't make sure that that would be taken care of." The hospital is allegedly still in possession of thousands of videos.

Representatives from Sharp HealthCare and Sharp Grossmont Hospital released a statement asserting the surveillance was set up "to ensure patient safety by determining the cause of drugs missing from the carts":

Between July 2012 and June 2013, Sharp Grossmont Hospital installed and operated one hidden camera on the anesthesia cart located in each of three operating rooms in the Women's Center. The purpose of the three cameras was to ensure patient safety by determining the cause of drugs missing from the carts. An initial lawsuit alleging privacy violations and other claims stemming from the video recording was filed against Sharp HealthCare and Sharp Grossmont Hospital in 2016. The case remains active and Sharp is not in a position to comment further about the matter. Sharp HealthCare and Sharp Grossmont Hospital continue to take extensive measures to protect the privacy of its patients.

Privacy and Negligence

This lawsuit puts forth several invasion of privacy claims. And while Sharp spokesperson John Cihomsky told the New York Times that only a handful of authorized people in the company's security, legal and clinical departments reviewed the videos and that the "videos themselves are, and have always been, securely maintained," that lawsuit also charges the hospital with negligence for storing the videos on computers used by multiple people, some of which were not password protected.

Patient privacy, and breach, is a serious matter. If you think a medical provider has improperly recorded, used, or released your medical information, talk to an attorney immediately.

Related Resources:

• Find Personal Injury Lawyers Near You (FindLaw's Lawyer Directory)
• Women Sue L.A. Hospital for Gynecologist Sexual Misconduct (FindLaw's Injured)
• Lawsuit: Mississippi Hospital Liable for Sex Assault by Paramedic (FindLaw's Injured)
• Can I Sue for Hospital Negligence? (FindLaw's Injured)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2019/04/california-womens-hospital-sued-for-allegedly-filming-1800-patients.html

Xarelto Settles 25,000 Cases for $775M

The makers of the blood-thinning drug Xarelto, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson, have agreed to settle the 25,000 consolidated cases against them for $775 million.

The massive mass tort settlement resolved the cases by creating a fund that the individual plaintiffs in each case can seek compensation from. Curiously, in six of the trials of individual cases, the drug makers actually won. However, facing mounting litigation costs for continuing to battle it out, the companies' statement explains that settling was an economic decision. Despite the big settlement figure, the path actually pans out.

What Are These Cases About?

The Xarelto cases involve claims that the drug maker failed to warn those patients prescribed the drug of several, potentially fatal, side effects. Complicating matters is the fact that prescribed patients cannot simply stop taking the drug without risk.

For several years when the drug was first sold, those risks were not disclosed, which basically meant anyone taking the drug prior to the disclosure in 2015 potentially had/has a claim. The value of that claim however is likely to vary based on whether there has been an impact to the person's life as a result of the failure to disclose.

Big Numbers, But Not Big Enough?

While that $775 million figure might sound impressive, even assuming no attorney fees or costs come out of that number, which is unlikely, each of the 25,000 cases would have $31,000 each (hypothetically if everyone got the same amount, which isn't likely to be the case as many suffered more injury than others).

As Forbes explains, the drug makers are basically getting off easy here. Given the sheer number of cases that $775 million settles out, it's clear the drug makers have gotten the benefit of the bargain in this settlement.

Related Resources:

• $28M Xarelto Verdict Goes Against J&J, Bayer (FindLaw's Injured)
• Xarelto Injuries or Fatalities: Can You Sue? (FindLaw's Injured)
• Xarelto Litigation: 6,000 Lawsuits Consolidated (FindLaw's Injured)

from Injured http://blogs.findlaw.com/injured/2019/04/xarelto-settles-25000-cases-for-775m.html